IPA welcomes predicted boom in adland jobs

The IPA has welcomed figures released by the AA today (26 March 2015) that indicate a boom in jobs in adland.

26/03/2015

UK advertising predicts employment boom of 70,000 new jobs

Jobs in advertising to grow at double the rate of the UK average over the next five years

UK advertising will add over 70,000 new roles by 2019

Total number of people employed to reach 434,000

New figures released today from the Advertising Association (AA) predict that advertising-related jobs will grow by over 70,000 in the next five years, bringing the total number of people working across the sector to over 434,000 by 2019.

Growth in jobs related to advertising is expected to be more than double that of the wider economy: 14.2 per cent compared to 5.6 per cent for the rest of the economy.

Over half (39,370) of these new roles will be in production, creation and in house positions;17 per cent (12,172) will come from media; and a further 27 per cent (18,994) from acrossthe advertising supply chain.

Speaking at Advertising Week Europe, Tim Lefroy, Chief Executive at the AA said: “Across the digital economy, the creative industries and beyond, investment in advertising is creating high quality UK jobs for everyone from actors to analysts.”

According to AA/Warc Expenditure Report data, UK advertising spend is expected to grow 5.7% to over £19 billion in 2015, with particularly strong growth expected in mobile, digital news and television on demand.

Lefroy continued, “All the major parties are switching on to the massive potential in the UK’s creative industries, and advertising is right at the heart of it. Not only are we the second largest creative industry in our own right, but we’re a source of billions in revenues to fuel creative output in television, radio, publishing and more.”

Janet Hull OBE, IPA Director of Marketing and Executive Director Creative Pioneers, says,“This is fantastic news – and something we at the IPA have seen first hand, with the number of Creative Pioneers apprenticeships doubling year-on-year. As we know, and as we have heard throughout the many sessions at Adweek, new jobs and growth are led by the demands for new skillsets around big data, technology platforms and social media. This is why the IPA is refreshing its Future of Talent strategy with apprenticeships for digital natives straight from schools and new initiatives for STEM graduates.”